Do you remember what was your first mobile? Surely out of those models that still had an antenna or just entered the bag. Surely it was already well into adolescence when one fell into your hands and without great luxuries: without internet, with limited balance ...
Times have changed and children are born with technology under their arm. From a very young age they learn to handle our smartphones and You are probably thinking of buying a mobile phone for your child. Before doing so we propose 13 things you should keep in mind, take note.
Earlier access to mobile devices
According to the National Statistics Institute, in its Survey on Equipment and Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Homes of 2017, 25% of 10-year-olds have a mobile device, a figure that amounts to 94% with 15 years.
From the age of 12, 75% of children in Spain have a mobile phoneThe reality is that every year statistics indicate that children have earlier access due to the impact that technology has on their environment: schools that go from traditional blackboards to digital or increasingly technological toys that condition these circumstances.
13 things you should keep in mind before deciding to buy a mobile phone for your child
- Why does your child want a mobile ?: This is the first question you should ask yourself. Do you really need it or is it a whim? You may want it because your friends have it but it is not enough reason. It must be a device that allows you to be in contact with your child and give the child some freedom.
- Its maturity: It is important to know the child well and know if he is prepared to make proper use of the mobile phone. If you are responsible enough to respect the rules we set.
- A first step before buying a mobile phone can be to share ours: We can let them create their own profiles that they manage from our smartphone, so we will gradually give them the autonomy they are looking for.
- Don't give in on "all my friends have one": We have all used that argument and before consenting we have to verify that it is true and analyze the situation, do we wait or allow?
- Configure the smartphone ourselves: in case of accessing and buying the mobile phone, it is necessary to establish a correct privacy for a minor.
- Install parental applications: From the option of restrictions, which is what interests us, we will focus on the location, the restriction of applications, use of the camera, the application store or content not suitable for the age that we mark.
- Establish a schedule: It is convenient to set some guidelines for use so that the child is not distracted from homework. There are parents who prefer to ban its use on weekdays and others who restrict it to a few minutes a day.
- Explain the dangers of a mobile: to have access to a mobile phone is to have an open window to a world of information but also to innumerable dangers such as sexual harassment or cyberbullying. It is convenient that you sit with your child and explain that under no circumstances should you send images or messages to strangers, as well as be careful with those people to whom you provide his number. In addition, if you suffer harassment, you must report it immediately.
- At night the phone must be off: Some studies indicate that abusive use of the internet before sleep causes insomnia, since the luminescence of the screen is very counterproductive for falling asleep.
- It will be we, the parents, who will download the applications they need: in case of games it is our responsibility to investigate what they are about and their functions. If, for example, we do not want our children to chat, we must verify that the games we download do not have these types of messaging.
- The little one will have a life apart from the mobile: These devices can generate dependence so we will have to take the reins and make the little ones have an active social life and interact in real life with other children.
- You must make responsible use of social networks: once you are 14 years old (legal age to have profiles on social networks) you can use them but always under adult supervision, with a correct configuration of privacy and understanding the risks and exposure that entails.
- Terminal care and maintenance: Mobile phones are relatively expensive devices and require care. The minor must commit to being responsible for not suffering any damage or lose his smartphone.
In addition to these 13 points we must know the small school standards and know whether or not they can take it to school. For example, in France it is forbidden to use mobile phones at school for children under 15, not even at recess.
Finally, as a reflection, we will leave a fact that may attract attention. Bill Gates did not allow his children access to smartphones until age 14 although it did not prohibit them from accessing the internet from other devices. It gives thought, right?
